He notes that more than any other state, California has embraced the federal health care law that President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have vowed to repeal. He says he'll join with other governors and lawmakers to fight those efforts.

The Democratic governor and the Democratic Legislature have taken a defensive posture against the new administration of President Donald Trump and a Republican Congress.

Both have promised to roll back many of the liberal policies Brown and his fellow Democrats have embraced: efforts to address climate change, expand health care for the poor and offer more aid to immigrants.

The 78-year-old governor is coming off a year of political - and liberal - victories. But his political clock is ticking. Term limits give him only until the end of 2018 to serve.